


My Heart Will Beat For You

by hollypretendstowrite



Category: Supernatural, Warm Bodies - All Media Types, World War Z (2013), World War Z - Max Brooks
Genre: Multi, My First Fanfic, POV Alternating, POV First Person, Post-Zombie Apocalypse, Zombie Apocalypse, Zombies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-26
Updated: 2015-12-24
Packaged: 2018-05-03 12:14:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 12
Words: 11,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5290259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hollypretendstowrite/pseuds/hollypretendstowrite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>3 years ago the plague ravaged the entire world. The governments collapsed, society crumbled, and people turned on each other. Literally. Over half the population turned into man-eating zombies.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Intro

*NOT AU*

3 years ago the plague ravaged the entire world. The governments collapsed, society crumbled, and people turned on each other. Literally. Over half the population turned into man-eating zombies. No one was safe, not even the biggest leaders of the world. Singers, dancers, artists, writers, millionaires, anyone famous wasn't safe. Even hunters weren't safe. The Winchesters learned that the hard way. Sam Winchester was bitten 6 months after the outbreak went global, while with a group of hunters trying to contain the problem in China. They had to leave him behind. A year and a half later people began to get back together. Cities began to clear, and rebuild. Zombies were killed and the first-world countries started to go back to the way they were. But more parts of the world did not. Now it's 2018. Gianova has been living in Chicago, working on her major in Investigative Journalism. She was invited to shadow a real reporter on a story in Cambodia. But when a hoard of zombies separates Gianova and her group, she becomes stuck with one of the very things she fears.

 

*WARNINGS* Language, Violence, Sexual References

*Loosely based on the book/movie Warm Bodies and the book/movie World War Z. Go get them they're really good!*

*Most locations are just things I found on Google Maps. Schools, hospitals, houses, ect. Anything else about them is made up.*

*All chapters will have links at the end leading to visual elements I use to inspire myself.*

*This story has a very very very long intro, and the main part of the story where she is a reporter won't really start to take hold until somewhere around chapters 15-20.*


	2. Things Are Changing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AKA where the author tries to make character introductions interesting and introduce a plot.

April 17th 2015

Gianova P.O.V

"Nova! Get up! The bus comes in an hour! And I know how long it takes you to get ready!"

"O.K. mom! Don't break something." I grumbled. My mom stopped rapping on the door and I heard her walking away. I moaned and rolled back over under the covers.

"NOVA! I can't drive you if you miss the bus! I have to leave in ten minutes!"

"Alright mom! I'm getting up." I threw the covers back and jumped up. "Shit! It's already 7:00?" I ran over to the bathroom and took a record fast shower. I didn't have time to do much with my hair so I just blew dry it and hoped my bouncy curls wouldn't become a problem. Minimal makeup.

"Tada!" I sang. "And with 20 minutes to spare!" I twirled around so my skirt would flair out.

" _Oh Oh, Ooh Ooh Ooh, I loved you, I loved you, With all that's in my power, I was used and abused, Til I was sweet and-"_

I sprinted over to my dresser and snatched up my phone. "Hello?"

"Nova? It's Tanner."

"No."

"You don't even know what I was going to say!" He protested.

"I'm not going to the Spring Fling with you. We broke up months ago."

"But baby-"

"Don't 'but baby' me! We broke up 6 months ago! Stop calling me! We're never getting back together!" I hung up the phone. I hate, well, hate is a strong word. I highly dislike my ex-boyfriend Tanner Wilson. He's such a dick. I don't know what the hell I saw in him!

I sighed and looked at the time. "Shit!" I grabbed my bag and umbrella and raced downstairs. Just my luck it was raining. Not that I don't like the rain. But it was a large inconvenience when I was running late. "Shit shit shit! It's pouring!" I sighed heavily and opened my umbrella. At least it was warm outside. I locked the door behind me and ran down the street as fast as I could. At the far end I could already see the bus pulling away. "Shit!" I sighed and slowed to a walk, hiding under my umbrella. "I can't afford any more tardies in first hour!"

"Need a ride?!"

I spun around, crying out in relief. "Zoe!" She grinned at me and waved me in. I closed my umbrella and dove into the passenger seat of her MINI.

"So why is it every time I drive by you you've just missed the bus?"

"It's one of my special talents." I laughed.

She rolled her eyes. "Oooooh I love this song!" She reached forward and turned up the radio. "This hit, that ice cold, Michelle Pfeiffer, that white gold!"

"Concentrate on the road." I elbowed her gently.

"What road?"

I looked up and frowned, realizing we were already in the parking lot. "Damn. Can we just cut class?"

"No!" She gave me a look and then grabbed my umbrella out of the back, darting out before I could stop her. I jumped out of the car and ran to catch up with her, hiding underneath the umbrella from the rain.

"Hey mind if I walk with you?" Conner came running up on out other side.

"Yes." I stared at her with the most serious face I could muster, and we all burst out into laughter.

"LADIES! GET TO CLASS!" yelled Mr. Rogers. He's the most strict teacher in school. He stands in the parking lot every morning to yell at kids to get to class. Only at Mather High School.

"We've got 20 minutes before class starts!" I hissed to the girls as we entered the school.

Conner waved it off. "I heard from Mrs. Laurel yesterday that his wife got attacked by some creep on her way home from work."

"Is she okay?" Zoe gasped.

"I think she's still in the hospital." She replied.

"Does it have to do with the attacks Chicago?" I asked.

"I don't know." Conner looked puzzled. "But I do know that attendance has been going down steadily ever since they started being covered in the news, Mrs. Christenberry told me." 

Zoe threw up her hands, "how is it that you get all of the teachers to tell you everything!"

Conner just laughed. "I'll see you guys later." She waved and turned into her Economics class.

"Have they canceled track yet?" Zoe asked while waving to Conner.

"No. I think they will though. There aren't enough of us left to play. Joe hasn't been here for a week. Maria, Adam, and Wesley missed practice yesterday. And Katie texted me last night she's leaving town tonight. Red Cross Club has been canceled too." I sighed and looked over at my first hour class. "Mr. Biggs is gone again."

"So is Ms. Tyler. Bekka texted me." Zoe shook her head. "We aren't going to have enough teachers to keep the school open."

"I know, I'll see you later." I said my goodbyes to Zoe and went into my Spanish III class. After the bell rang I counted how many people were here. 14 out of 27.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *inspiration*  
> Gianova - weheartit.com/entry/30185926/in-set/7385896-my-heart-will-beat-for-you?context_user=lovehollyberry  
> Zoe - weheartit.com/entry/5985059/in-set/7385896-my-heart-will-beat-for-you?context_user=lovehollyberry  
> Conner - weheartit.com/entry/17634392/in-set/7385896-my-heart-will-beat-for-you?context_user=lovehollyberry  
> Nova's mom - weheartit.com/entry/63300059/via/piola  
> Tanner - weheartit.com/entry/44647527/via/NenaIsabel  
> Nova outfit - www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=72065944  
> Zoe outfit - www.polyvore.com/day_zoe/set?id=77655848&lid=2284196  
> Conner outfit - www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=108088265  
> Zoe's car - weheartit.com/entry/67832900


	3. The World Goes To Shit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AKA where the author tries to find more than one work for "asked" and describe zombie while still saying people.

April 17th 2015

Gianova POV

I tapped my foot absently and stared at the clock. There were only two more classes today but people were still getting pulled out of school. Someone in my 4th hour passed out and an ambulance had to come. So many people were being brought home by parents, only 8 people were left in my class.

"Gianova Parker?"

I snapped my head over to the door, where Mrs. Christenberry was waiting.

"Gianova Parker?" She asked again.

"That's me." I raised my hand. She found my eyes and motioned for me to come with her. I grabbed my bag and my books and followed her out, acutely aware of everyone's eyes on me. We went into the hallway, where my mom was waiting.

"Mom? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be a work?" I fired off questions as we walked towards the main entrance.

"Don't you worry about that. Do you have anything in your locker that you need?" She was walking faster than both Mrs. Christenberry and myself.

"My journals. And my camera." I replied.

"Okay. Okay. Go get those, leave your textbooks with Mrs. Christenberry." She grabbed my backpack off of my shoulder. I handed my AP Psychology and Sociology books to Mrs. Christenberry and headed off to my locker. I saw 3 other people clearing out their lockers on the way to mine. I made it to mine and began to clear out my notebooks.

"Nova!" I turned and saw Conner running towards me, all of her things in tow. "Is your mom pulling you out?"

"Yeah," I grabbed my camera bag and cradled my journals in my arm as I shut my locker. "What about you?'

"My dad's girlfriend Carine is coming to get me." She rolled her eyes. "It must be  _so_ very important for me to get home if he's sending perfect Carine."

"At least your dad isn't being psycho about it. My mom is freaked. She told me to hand all of my textbooks in and clear out my locker. I don't know where she thinks we're going." We reached the front office, and found Zoe there with her parents.

"Nova! Conner! What's going on?" She asked. I shrugged and avoided my mother's eyes. Conner looked equally uncomfortable, mumbling that she was going to go wait in the parking lot.

"Are you ready to go?" My mom asked. I nodded.

"I'll walk with her." Zoe cut in. She grabbed her bag off of the ground and we headed out to the parking lot. I saw my my thank Mrs. Christenberry and follow us with Mr. and Mrs. Sasha.

"Why is everyone leaving?" I asked Zoe.

"I'm not sure. My phone keeps getting alerts to stay indoors though. Something about riots in Chicago." She replied.

All of the sudden there was a piercing shriek from the left side of the lot.

"Was that Conner?" Zoe asked frightfully. We broke into a sprint towards the voice. We rounded the side of a Lexus SUV and I almost fell down in shock. Conner was standing over two bodies. One was a 30 something man in coveralls. The other was Carine, her father's bitch girlfriend. The man in coveralls was covered in blood. He had blood oozing from his mouth and something that looked scarily like flesh. He had a huge bite mark on the back of his neck. There was a knife in his eyeball, I recognized the hilt as Conner's emergency knife. Carine looked almost worse. Her stomach was ripped open and blood oozed from various cut on her exposed skin. 

"He was just..." Conner looked at a loss of words. "He was just... eating. Eating everything. I screamed and he lunged at me! I had to! I had to!" She started crying and shaking. "I didn't mean to kill him! I'm sorry!"

Zoe wandered over to where Carine was laying. "How could anyone do this?"

Conner continued to cry as the Sashas and my mom came running up. 

"NOVA! Get back now!" My mom screamed. She grabbed my arm and yanked me away.

"Mom, what are you doing?" I protested.

"Zoe come here." Mr. Sasha called.

"Why?" She asked. "What's gunna happen?"

Suddenly Carine lunged up and grabbed Zoe's arm. She screamed as Carine growled and bit into her arm.

"ZOE!!!" I shrieked. My mom grabbed me around the waist and pulled me away. Mr. Sasha lunged forward and kicked Carine off of Zoe. Mrs. Sasha grabbed Zoe's other arm and pulled her forward.

"Over there! Our Focus is just there!" Mrs. Sasha yelled. As she yelled a group of people came shambling through the cars on the far side of the lot.

"No time! Quick! My Cherokee is over there! We can all fit in that!" My mom directed us in the other direction.

"Conner come on! Let's go!" I yelled. I broke free from my mom and took Conner's hand to pull her along.

"Lay her down on the back seats." My mom commanded on the way. "Gianova, Conner, crouch in the back, Mrs. Sasha sit with Zoe in the back, Mr. Sasha sit in the front." She unlocked the car and ducked into the driver seat. I popped the truck and climbed into the back, dragging Conner in and slamming the door. Mr. Sasha set Zoe down in the back with her head on her mother's lap. He shut the door and sat down in the passenger seat.

"Mrs. Parker!" Conner panicked.

I turned around. "Mom drive!!!" I screamed as people began to throw themselves against our car.

The sirens at the school began to go off and people were running around screaming. The things banging on our car were everywhere, jumping on people and biting and scratching them. Our car screeched around the corner as we sped away from the school, leaving those things behind. The car was silent except for Zoe's labored breathing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *inspiration*  
> Mrs. Christenberry - http://weheartit.com/entry/210739574  
> Mr. Sasha - http://weheartit.com/entry/92626153  
> Mrs. Sasha - http://weheartit.com/entry/35982938/via/iVixen  
> Carine - http://weheartit.com/entry/210707185  
> Parker car - https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/1993-1995_Jeep_Grand_Cherokee_--_03-30-2012.JPG


	4. An Unfortunate Event

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AKA where the Sashas get a lesson in the new world and Toy Story is involved.

April 17th 2015

Gianova POV

I pulled anything I didn't want out of my backpack and shoved my journals and camera in. I zipped it up and put it on, not wanting to take any chances. Conner was still softly crying beside me. I could hear Zoe whimpering while Mrs. Sasha tried to use a spare shirt to wrap her arm. 

"Where are we going?" Mr. Sasha demanded. "We need to get to a hospital!"

My mom shook her head. "We can't. They aren't accepting anyone else. They can't help her anyways."

"Mom we can't let her bleed out!" I protested.

"She's bitten." She said with a concerning amount of finality. 

"So?! People get bitten by animals all the time!" Mrs. Sasha yelled.

"Kay, these aren't animals. They're infected with a deadly disease." My mom turned onto our road. "Those things outside of the school are infected. Those riots in Chicago aren't riots, they're infected attacks." We parked outside of our house and she shut off the car.

"What does that even mean?" Mrs. Sasha cried out.

"Like the man in the coveralls." I realized. "He had a bite on his neck. And Carine had been bitten into when he was eating her! And-" I stopped suddenly, realizing what that meant.

"I'm going to turn into one of them?" Zoe whispered.

"No sweetheart. No you won't, Kaylee just had a bit too much to drink." Mrs. Sasha glared at my mom and opened her door. "We're leaving, we can find someone else to take us to the hospital. Gianova, Conner, come with us."

I looked at my mom, she looked like she wanted to say something to Mrs. Sasha, but didn't. She turned to Mr. Sasha instead. "Lenard, listen to me. If you go to the hospital, the guards will shoot her, no questions asked, if they see the bite. Then they will detain you, and most likely shoot you too. They aren't taking any chances." She lowered her voice, but I could still hear her. "If we bring her inside, you can be with her for a few more hours, and we can put her down humanly."

Mr. Sasha threw up his hands. "What part of this is humane!"

"I don' wanna go t' the hosp'tl" Zoe murmured. "Don' wan' you t' die."

"There you go." My mom got out and circled around the back to open the trunk. I got out and grabbed Conner's hand to help her out. I closed the trunk and followed the Sashas and my mom up the sidewalk and through the side door.

"Upstairs, the guest room." My mom led them upstairs, Conner and I followed.

"Here?"

"Yes, lay her down, like that." My mom bustled around, pulling blankets off and adding pillows to elevate her head and arm. "Nova go get a spare sheet!"

I set my bag down and ran to the linen closet and grabbed the first sheet in there, an old Toy Story sheet of my sister Sofia's. "She won't mind." I muttered. I raced back into the guest room and thrusted it at my mom. She snatched it up. Zoe's arm was uncovered, and it looked terrible. It was red and yellow and bruised. Her skin was in chunks around the wound and it was still bleeding profusely. My mom folded the sheet and wrapped it tightly around Zoe's arm. Zoe cried out in pain but my mom didn't seem to care. Mrs. Sasha grabbed Zoe's hand tighter.

"What about Caroline and Cynthia?" Conner whispered. "Where are they?"

"They are at my mom's house. Cynthia has a fever and Caroline had a job shadow today, but they closed early." Mrs. Sasha replied.

"Where is that?" My mom asked.

"Forest Glen, west of here." Mr. Sasha answered.

"Okay, I'll go get them. Someone stay with Zoe at all times. Did everyone see the infected man in the coveralls, with the knife? If she dies, make sure you get her brain. That seems to be the only way to get them down." My mom turned to leave.

"I'm coming too."

My mom turned back to look at me.

"I can't just sit here, I'll go crazy and you know that." I said. "I'm coming too."

My mom nodded. "Alright then, let's go."

I grabbed my bag off of the floor and followed her downstairs. Conner trailed behind us. My mom grabbed the keys and went outside to start the car.

"I'll stay down here, and anything looks fishy outside, I'll call you and get the Sashas to safety." Conner said.

"Okay. Be safe." I replied.

"You too."

I locked the door behind me and ran down to the car.

"You ready to go?" My mom asked. I nodded. She pulled onto the road. "Stay close to me when we get there, we don't know what we'll find." I nodded again.

"Alright then." She sighed. "Let's go get the rest of the Sashas."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *inspiration*  
> Parker house - https://www.redfin.com/IL/Chicago/2530-W-Morse-Ave-60645/home/13585175


	5. Learn to Accept the Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AKA where the author pretends to know how to fight and seriously what do I call these things?

April 17th 2015

Gianova POV

We pulled up to the house Mrs. Sasha had texted us. The front door was open and the inside of the house was a mess.

"Nova stay here." My mom commanded.

"No! I'm not letting you go in there alone." I argued.

My mom sighed and dug into her purse. She dug out two kitchen knives from our house and handed one to me. "If you see one before it see you, leave and find me. If it sees you, run and hide, I'll find you."

I nodded and opened the door. I left my backpack in the car. My mom led us up the path and opened the door further open. The lights were still on, but there were a couple of broken lights in the living room. We made our way into the kitchen and I gasped loudly. There was a body in the kitchen, it belonged to an elderly woman. Her body was being fed on by a couple of random men.

They looked up when I gasped. My mom pushed me out of the room and screamed at me to run. I turned around and ran into an infected at the base of the stairs. I recognized it as Caroline, Zoe's sister. She grabbed my arms and I kicked her away, scrambling for my knife, which had fallen. She lunged at me and we fell down together. I screamed as she snapped at me. I managed to get my knife and I sliced blindly at her. I felt the knife cut her, but she kept coming, not even flinching. I cried out and stabbed the knife into her eye socket. She went limp and fell onto me. I gasped for breath and wriggled out from under her. I knelt over her and tried to pry the knife from her skull. 

Suddenly there was a growl and I jerked my head up. Two more were at the bottom of the stairs. One of them was an elderly woman who must have been Mrs. Sasha's mom, the other was a 20-something old woman. I pulled at the knife harder but it wouldn't budge. I stood up and ran for the living room, scanning the room for something sharp. There was a large pot by the window. Out of options I ran over and picked it up. I heard the infected getting closer, and I pitched the pot at the window.

The glass shattered into large shards. I picked one up and turned to face the infected. The glass cut into my hand and stung. The elder one charged me and I swiped at her. She kept coming and knocked me into the window shards. I heard a crash and saw my mom lunging at the younger one. I focused on the elder one. Wiping blood from my hands on my skirt, I ran at the infected and knocked her down.

"Here!!" I heard someone yell and toss something at me. It was a hammer. I picked it up and smashed into the infected's face. She kept snarling at me so I picked up the hammer again. I kept smashing into it's face again and again. I could feel liquid splattering on me. Something grabbed me around the waist and pulled me away. I screamed and they grabbed the hammer away.

"Nova! We need to leave!" My mom yelled. She grabbed my arms and pulled me away. I couldn't see the floor, which I realized was because I was crying. We made it outside and my mom swore. There were infected lining the streets. One saw us and started shambling towards us.

"RUN!" She pulled me forwards, someone followed us into the car and we shut the doors just in time. My mom floored the pedal and we sped away from the chaos.

I looked beside me. Sitting in the back with myself was Cynthia. She was crying and looked like a shambled mess. I looked down at my clothes. My shirt was torn and matted with blood. My sweater was in a similar condition. My bare legs were covered in cuts and glass from the window. My hands were still bleeding and my bracelet and necklace were gone. My hair was a mess of splattered blood and so was my face.

"Mom?" I whimpered.

"We'll get you cleaned up when we get home. You too..." She trailed off.

"Cynthia." I supplied.

"...Cynthia. Your parents and Zoe are there too." She finished. Cynthia continued to cry.

We got back to the house faster than it took to leave. I could see Conner sitting in the window watching us. She got up when we got out of the car and unlocked the door.

"What happened? What is that blood from?" She questioned. I shook my head. Cynthia followed behind me and my mom shut the door behind us. I stood in the middle of the room until my mom led me into the bathroom. 

"Conner can you take Cynthia upstairs to her parents?" My mom asked.

Conner nodded. She looked like she wanted to ask more but didn't. They left and my mom began to pull my bloody clothes off. She ran the shower and began to run the water over my legs. I hissed as the water ran over the tiny cuts on my legs. She left and came back with a box of bandages. She washed the rest of the blood off of my legs and quickly rinsed my torso and arms. When she got to my hands she gently rubbed the blood away. I cried out when the skin tugged. She washed my hair and face and turned off the water.

She covered my hands with antibacterial ointment and wrapped them in long white bandages. She put a small bandaid on a scrap on my face and larger ones on my legs. She wrapped me in towels and led me to my room. 

"Can you get dressed on your own?" She asked. I nodded. "Okay. I'm going to check on the Sashas."

She left and I sat down on my bed and burst into tears. I must have been taking a long time because Conner knocked on my door and sat down next to me.

"What happened?" She asked softly.

"There-there were two of-of them eating him, and I ran but there was another one at the stairs. And-and C-Caroline was one and sh-she attacked me I stabbed her but there were two more and I didn't know what to do!" I gasped a breath and Conner rubbed my back. "I ran into the living room and broke a window and stabbed her but it didn't-it didn't work and Cynthia gave me a hammer and I hit her and hit her and hit her and-"

"Breath Nova!" Conner cried. "It's okay. You had to."

"I killed them!" I yelled.

"They were infected. They were attacking you. You had no choice. I know that now." Conner said.

I whimpered. "What if they could have been cured? That was her sister! And her grandparents!"

"There was no time." Conner sighed. "You couldn't have waited for a cure! They were attacking you right then."

I nodded sadly.

"Now get dressed. You should go see Zoe." She said somberly. She got up and left the room.

I stood up and wandered over to my closet to get dressed. What do you wear to your best friend's death?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *inspiration*  
> Caroline - http://weheartit.com/entry/55643682/via/lovehollyberry  
> Cynthia - http://weheartit.com/entry/57059723


	6. The Beginning of the End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AKA where the author would like to reassure everyone that Sam will be in the story and there is a funeral.

April 17th 2015

Gianova POV

I finished getting dressed and headed down the hall to the guest room. I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the mirror. My face was tear-stained and my eyes were puffy. My hair was very bushy and my makeup was gone. I sighed and kept going. I turned into the guest bedroom. The Sashas were sitting on the bed with Zoe. All of them looked like they had been crying. My mom was sitting on the loveseat, and Conner was on the dresser. I sat next to my mom. She put her arm around my shoulders and I rested my head on her side.

Conner broke the silence first, "what happens now?"

My mom was quiet for a moment before speaking up. "We need to deal with Zoe."

"What do you mean 'deal with'?" Conner asked.

"We all know that she's going to turn." My mother said. "And I was listening to the radio at work, they said it happens between 2 and 12 hours after being bitten. Depending on how the person was bitten or how much blood they lost, they get a fever that raises in temperature until it kills the host. Then the person reanimates into and infected."

"They said all of that on the radio?" Cynthia looked skeptical. 

"On a local channel. The big channels are being paid to shut up about it. This has been going on for weeks. It started in the third-world countries. Africa, Asia, some South American. Then it began to spread to Europe, Australia, and North America. Those riots in Chicago, those are infected attacks. They started putting up road blocks last night." My mom sighed. "Sooner or later the whole world will be infected."

"What do we do?" Mrs. Sasha asked fearfully.

"There is a camp, north of here. They are accepting refugees. They have food, water, medicine, weapons. Everything needed to survive this." She replied. "But they won't accept parties with bitten members." She looked at Zoe.

Zoe looked pale and was barely breathing. She was sweating profusely.

"What's her temperature?" I asked quietly.

"105." Mr. Sasha replied heavily.

My mom pulled a bottle of pills out from her sweater. "These will put her to sleep. She won't feel a thing."

Mrs. Sasha nodded and turned to Zoe. 

"Can you hear me baby?" She asked.

Zoe stirred and her eyes fluttered a little.

"I need you to swallow this, it will make you feel better." She started crying. "I love you very much babygirl."

Mr. Sasha added, "I love you too sweetheart."

Conner and I both went over, crying. 

"We'll miss you Zoe." Conner said tearfully.

"It won't be the same without you." I finished. "We love you."

Cynthia hugged her sister and cried her goodbyes before leaving the room with Conner and I. We sat numbly in the living room until my mom came down. 

"Nova, why don't you and Conner and Cynthia go out back and dig a grave. By the flowers in the corner." She requested.

I nodded and headed into the backyard to get shovels. We dug the hole in silence. Later the Sashas came out, with Zoe's body wrapped in a sheet. We lowered her into the hole. Everyone started crying again. Even my mom was teary eyed. Everyone said their finale goodbyes and pitched in to finish burying her.

I found a couple of boards in the shed and nailed them together. Conner helped my carve in Zoe Rose Sasha, and her birth and death, 7.15.1996-4.17.2015. We stuck it in at the head of her grave. It was vintage looking, I'd like to think she likes it.

We went back inside so my mom and I could pack a bag. I packed one suitcase, trying to shove as much of my things as I could in it. I threw as much of my wardrobe as possible and closed the lid. We stuffed the car and packed ourselves in. I looked at my home one last time before we left it. I could feel tears running down my face.

We went to Conner's house next. All three of her brothers, Scotty, Nate, and Wilson, had made it in. So had her father. They were all packed up and had been waiting for her. She packed her bag, got changed, and they followed us in their Ford SUV. We stopped by the Sashas' house so they could grab their things.

"Where do we go now?" I asked.

"North. The refugee camp in Highland Park." My mom answered. "It's the first day of our new life."

I nodded and looked out of the window. There were people packing up their car a few houses down. The Sashas came out in fresh clothes, and lugged their suitcases down to our car. They filled up the rest of our trunk, and squeezed into the back seat. I sat shotgun. 

We pulled out and the Sweets followed us. To our new home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *inspiration*  
> Gianova outfit - http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=183479500  
> Conner outfit - http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=183480402  
> Cynthia outfit - http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=183481624  
> Sweet car - https://consumeraffairs.global.ssl.fastly.net/files/cache/news/2010_ford_escape_medium.jpeg


	7. I'm Sorry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AKA where the author has no clue what zombies think and kind of rips of The Walking Dead

October 21st 2015

Sam POV

I sat on the couch of the abandoned Bangkok apartment in Thailand. I looked over at the biters laying dead on the floor. One of them had flesh still dripping from its mouth. My flesh, to be specific.

I finished wrapping my arm and shouldered my pack, prepared to make it back to camp before turning into a biter myself. I ran onto the roof and jumped buildings until I reached the outside of the city.

I was beginning to fell woozy, though. I estimated my temperature to be at 101 already.

"No!" I shook his head. "Not until I see Dean." I set off again at twice the pace, determined not to fall ill to the virus too soon.

In retrospect, it was a quite stupid idea to go off on my own. It was just a scavenging mission, but I went far too close to the city. Even the outskirts where I was was too dangerous.

I fell down in the middle of the road. "Maybe my estimations were wrong..." I muttered aloud. I pulled a notepad out of my bag and scribbled a goodbye note on it. I pulled off my bag and tied a bright flag to it. Hopefully a hunter would find it and bring it to Dean. I knew my body wouldn't stay here. I didn't have any bullets or a knife, because I ended up in someones skull.

I sighed and lied down next to the road. A few minutes later I passed out.

Dean POV

"Have you seen Sam?" I asked Aidan.

"No, but I saw him leave this morning."

"Who was he with?" I asked. "He usually goes with me."

"I didn't see anyone with him." Aidan answered. "Now that I think about it, he should be back by now."

"I'm going to round up a rescue group." I decided. "You coming?"

"You bet, after Sam saved my ass last week, gotta repay the favor, right?" He laughed.

I rounded up two more people and we headed off.

"Alright, we got three hours until sunset and we need to be back to camp." I said.

We searched everywhere we could go without going into the city. After two and a half hours, I called we had to return.

"Dean?! You better come here!" Aidan called from the front. I pushed past everyone to the front. There was a bag with a brightly colored flag tied to it.

"That's Sam's bag." I realized. I ran forwards and unzipped the bag. On the very top was a note. 

_Dean,_

_I'm sorry I'm an idiot._

_I was out on a supply run this morning in the outskirts of the city, and I got ambushed by a pack of biters. One of them nipped me when I took them out. I was trying to get back to camp, but I guess the fever progressed faster than most._

_Don't make any stupid, life-ending decisions because of me. I didn't want that._

_I'm sorry brother._

_Sam_

The note slid from my hands in shock. I couldn't believe it. My brother, a biter. 

I don't remember the walk back to camp. Telling everyone what happened. The funeral.

It wasn't fair.

Sam POV

_Food food food food food_

_Eat eat eat eat eat_

_Flesh Flesh Flesh Flesh Flesh_

_NO_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *inspiration*  
> Sam - http://weheartit.com/entry/210972442/in-set/7385896-my-heart-will-beat-for-you?context_user=lovehollyberry  
> Dean - http://weheartit.com/entry/210972777/in-set/7385896-my-heart-will-beat-for-you?context_user=lovehollyberry  
> Aidan - http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTg0MzUxMzc0OV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwODQ4MDI2OQ@@._V1_SX640_SY720_.jpg


	8. Exposition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AKA where the author writes the the most setting-themed chapter ever and apologizes for lack of action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! I had my wisdom teeth out on Wednesday and have been unable to write until yesterday. Shouldn't happen again.

October 22nd 2015

Gianova POV

"Conner!!! Happy Birthday!!!" I yelled, jumping onto her bed.

"Ugh. If it's my birthday I should be able to sleep in." She mumbled.

"Unfortunately, we are doing laundry today, but that can be fun!" I cheered.

"Who with?" She asked while pulling herself out of bed and getting dressed.

"Danielle." I said with a smile. She perked up a little.

"Really?"

"Yup! Hey, put this on! I've been waiting for weeks to give it to you!" I handed her a little plastic crown that said 'Birthday Princess' on it. She bust out laughing.

"Do I have to wear this all day?" She complained.

"Shut up!" Someone yelled. "I'm trying to sleep!"

We simultaneously realized that there were 4 other people sleeping in the room.

"Sorry!" I whisper shouted.

"Just leave." Someone else requested.

She got dressed in her usual activewear and flannel, pulled on her riding boots, and we grabbed our backpacks and snuck out under the gate of the Tommy Bahama store, giggling. I slid the gate back down and followed Conner to the first level and down the hall to the Macy's.

Macy's was the largest store in Northbrook Court shopping mall. Everyone checks in at Macy's in the morning, and then go do their duties for the day. Pretty much everyone under 18 worked inside, with a few exceptions. Myself, Conner and Wilson Sweet, and Danielle Abbott are 17. Cynthia Sasha will be 15 until Christmas. Kate and Sarah Helms are 13 and 12. Matt Taylor is 12 too. Then there's Richie, Connor with an 'o', Ryan, and May Wyatt who are 10, 8, 6, and 4. And Larissa Brown has a baby girl named Patricia who's 7 months old. The fourteen of us spend a lot of time together, as we don't leave the mall much at all.

"Hey Nova, Conner. How are you today?" Melissa Rueben greeted us.

"Great!" I answered. "And you?"

"I'm wonderful. Hey Conner, what are you on today?" She asked.

"Laundry with Nova and Danielle. What about you?" 

"Scouting White Plains Shopping Center in Deerfield. Rich Taylor and Ned Gross are coming with." She finished loading her pack and zipped it up. "Need anything while we're out?"

We shook our heads.

"Alright then, see you tonight!" And she disappeared. 

Conner and I walked to the back of the store, where cleaning supplies were. I grabbed two bottles of detergent while Conner gathered washboards and buckets. Laundry is washed and hung up to dry in the Arhaus Furniture store. Almost all of the furniture was moved out and brought upstairs after we got here. It got put in the 'bedroom' stores. It gave us lots of room to hang up clotheslines using the fancy jewelry from Tiffany and Co and Pandora. We use the hangers from all of the clothing stores to hang stuff up to dry. It's a good system, that's why Conner and I usually get laundry duty.

"Ready to go?" Conner asked.

"Yep." We walked down to the furniture store and set everything up. We use filtered rain water to wash the clothes. Sometimes we use clean water, but it's not always very available. Occasionally, if we are very behind or are confident we have enough stored up we'll use the electricity from the solar panels on the roof to run the washer and dryer. Not often though.

"Hey guys! I got the laundry from J.Crew and Sur La Table." Danielle said as she dragged two large bags in after her. "I would've grabbed more but not everyone is ready yet. I figure Conner and I can start on the washing and you can go pester people until they are ready?" She suggested.

I rolled my eyes. "If you wanted me out you could've just asked." I slipped past Conner before she could splutter out a protest and headed down the hall.

"Good morning Gianova!" 

I looked over at the Banana Republic to see who was calling. "Good morning Mrs. Christenberry! How are you today?"

"I'm doing wonderful. What are you doing today?" She replied.

"I'm on laundry all day with Danielle and Conner. What about you?" I stopped walking and walked over to the doorway, leaning on the side.

"Organizing clothing with Leah, Georgia, Cynthia, and Wilson might help too depending on how much help Larissa needs with the younger kids. We're trying to clear out more clothing stores on the second floor so that there aren't as many people in each room." I noticed as she was talking that there was a large pile of clothing next to her that she was hanging up.

"That would be nice. I'm with five other people. I miss having a bedroom to myself." I realized I had been chatting with Mrs. Christenberry for longer than I had intended. "I should go, I'm supposed to be collecting laundry right now."

"Okay, have fun Gianova!" She smiled.

I laughed. "You too Mrs. Christenberry."

I headed away from the store and up the non-functional escalator. I stopped at Claim Company first, shaking the gate and calling for laundry. Ian LeBaron met me at the gate with two bags. There are 6 people in that store, so I was surprised there wasn't more. I put the bags in the Macy's cart upstairs and pushed it down the hall. I waved to Leah and Georgia, who were working in H&M to bring more clothes downstairs. I could see Cynthia emerging from Tommy Bahama, blinking at the daylight. I checked the nearest battery operated clock. 8:43. Breakfast was usually ready at 9:15. If you are up before that, start working then. People who were leaving on away missions often ate on the road.

I pulled up to Abercrombie and Fitch. Another 6 people. Matt Taylor met me at the gate, insisting that he could lift the laundry into the cart himself. He's always trying to impress people. Especially Kate and Sarah, because they are the only ones close to his age.

Gymboree Play & Music, Chico's, Clarks, and lululemon athletica had one bag each. Deciding I had enough, I pushed the cart to the nearest escalator and began throwing the bags down the steps. I would collect them all at the end. I resumed the collections at Aveda, Peek, Ivivva Athletica, and Everything But Water, ending at the Tommy Bahama where Conner, Cynthia, her mom and dad, my mom, and I stay. I said good morning to Lenard, who was the only person still in there, and grabbed the last laundry bags.

After I got all of the laundry downstairs I filled up the large cardboard box bin with the bags and parked it just inside of Arhaus.

"It's gunna be a long day." Conner sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *inspiration*  
> Nova outfit - http://www.polyvore.com/conners_birthday_nova/set?id=183872687  
> Conner outfit - http://www.polyvore.com/birthday_girl_conner/set?id=183788302  
> Mall layout - http://www.northbrookcourt.com/en/directory.html


	9. This Is It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AKA where the author literally made a list of everyone in the mall and procrastinated writing for a week.

October 22nd 2015

Gianova POV

"Breakfast is ready! Y'all comin'?" Victoria asked.

"Yup!" Danielle chirped.

I rubbed the water off of my hands and onto my checkered pants. We had gotten half a bag done in the 20 minutes we had been working. I snagged my pack and followed Conner and Danielle out of the store and over to Stir Crazy Cafe.

Food is cooked and eaten at the cafe. Unless there are infected outside, which almost never happens. We try to keep the parking lots on all sides clear by creating car blockades on the road encircling the building and the lots and posting guards night and day. We were hoping to set up a more permanent fencing system, but haven't had the time or materials to do so.

"Gianova!" 

I turned around to see Conner's brother Wilson running towards me. He is, for whatever reason, obsessed with me.

"Hi Wilson." I greeted him.

"What are you doing today?" He asked.

"Um, laundry. What about you?" I always try to be polite with him.

"Shadowing guard duty. My dad wants to make sure I"m ready to start jobs when I turn 18." He shifted the rifle on his shoulder with obvious purpose. I tried not to roll my eyes.

"Cool." I searched for an excuse to leave. I couldn't find one and decided that everything hated me.

"Hey, you should come find me later, keep me company." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. I hit him in the chest.

"I'll see you later, perv." I said and broke off to claim the corner booth before anyone else did. I saw Conner's pack in the booth and found her in line with Danielle. I waved when they looked and got in the back of the line. 

I waited patiently, making small talk with Meredith and Dom. The Lancaster sisters grew up in their parents restaurant, so they make all of our meals. They can make even canned beans taste good 5 days in a row. Pregnant Genesis and 75 year old Rosa serve the food and help do small tasks when they aren't.

"What's cooking today, Rosa?" Dom asked.

"Hello Dom. Breakfast is fruit cocktail, grilled chicken, and biscuits. Lunch will be macaroni and cheese, vienna sausages, and mangos in syrup. And dinner looks like roasted sweet potatoes, roast beef with gravy, and sweet corn." She served all three of us while she was talking. I took my plate over to the booth with Conner and Danielle. Victoria Smith had joined us.

"Hi Tori!" I greeted. "How are you?"

"I'm great! I get to go outside today, I'm excited." She gushed. She's only just turned 18 last month. 

"That's right!" Danielle exclaimed. "I forgot. You're going to a golf course?"

"Green Acres Country Club." She corrected. "Scavenging. Meredith, Clarence, Antonio, " 

"Sounds fun." Conner mumbled through a mouthful of fruit. She swallowed and continued. "I don't understand why we have to be 18. We need more people out there!"

I picked at my chicken and stayed silent. I could go my whole life staying in the mall if it meant never seeing the infected again.

"I can't wait to be 18!" Danielle exclaimed. "7 months to go!"

"I wish we were in a world where 18 meant being able to gamble and not fighting cannibals." I muttered. No one heard me.

"You should hear Wilson going on and on about it. It's annoying." Conner complained. "Sometimes I wish I didn't have to have three brothers."

"At least your family is all here." I interjected, glancing a Cynthia. The others sobered up. "I would give all of my limbs for my sister to be here and not in Brazil!"

"I'm not saying I wish they were out there!" Conner yelled.

"Then stop complaining! Be happy! Your family is alive!" I yelled back. It got very quiet.

My mom came running over. "We don't know that she's dead-"

"Really?! You really think Sofia is alive?! NO! She's dead, dad's dead, and you don't even talk to me anymore! You're just as dead as them." I grabbed my bag and turned to leave. She grabbed my wrist but I shook her off and stalked out of the cafe. 

"Let her go." Someone said. 

I kept walking until I found a set of doors that led outside, and I breathed in the fresh air. I always felt paranoid that infected were going to get in, but I really needed air.

It annoyed me to no end when Conner complained about her family. Danielle was in an orphanage when this started, and Victoria's parents are in Florida. Cynthia has her parents, but her sister is dead.

I never even met my dad. My sister traced him to Brazil and left as soon as she finished college to find him. She started modeling, which really took off. She works for Colcci, which is a super upscale Brazilian clothing brand. I'd hope she's alive, but my hopes aren't high. If the US couldn't make it, why would Brazil?

"Nova?" A quiet female voice called.

"I'm over here." I called back.

Genesis came around the corner and sat down on the pavement next to me. 

"Gen! Shouldn't you be inside?" I worried.

She rubbed her stomach. "Fresh air is good for the baby. And for me. I can't stay cooped up inside of that mall for nine months straight. I sneak out all of the time to get away from the stuffy air."

"You should at least take someone with you." I fretted. "I don't care if it's 2 AM, you can wake me up if you need anything!"

"I hate to be a bother. It's my fault for getting pregnant during an apocalypse." She sighed. "I was young, and impressionable, and really, really high." She laughed.

I snorted and tried to cover it with a cough.

She smiled. "You can laugh. He was a senior at the University of Wisconsin, I was an incoming freshman on a tour. He liked to smoke weed, I liked to impress guys. So when the living dead started eating people, we were too high to care. We..." She gestured wildly, "did the deed, and then he got eaten. I escaped campus with Aubrey, Clarence, and Meredith."

"Did you ever smoke after you found out you were pregnant?" I asked.

"No. We couldn't find any anyways. At first they thought I was having withdrawals, but then Meredith decided I should take a pregnancy test just in case, and, well..." She trailed off.

I studied my shoes and stayed silent.

"That's in the past though." She said firmly. "I just want to focus on the well-being of my baby."

"Speaking of the well-being of that baby, you should be inside Gen." Scotty scolded, making us both jump with his sudden appearance. "The Lancasters could use some help cleaning up."

Gen got up and patted my shoulder. She squeezed past Scotty and went inside.

"Nova!" Scotty stopped me before I could creep past him. I turned back around. "The kids are supposed to be organizing the storage and doing inventory, but I don't think they are going to stick with it. Do you and Alisha want to help out? Conner and Danielle can do laundry without you."

I smiled gratefully. The last thing I wanted to do right now was laundry with Conner. 

"Great. I'll send Alisha over." He went back inside. I followed and turned to Macy's. Inventory isn't so bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *inspiration*  
> Victoria - http://weheartit.com/entry/70823159/search?context_type=search&context_user=av_nitaaa&query=teen+girl&sort=most_popular  
> Danielle - http://weheartit.com/entry/157734092/search?context_type=search&context_user=TheGaelle56&page=17&query=teen+girl&sort=most_popular  
> Sofia - http://weheartit.com/entry/63241664  
> Genesis - http://weheartit.com/entry/34024193/via/lovehollyberry?page=2


	10. The Life We Must Live

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AKA where the author struggles to write the beginning when she just wants to skip to the end.

October 22nd 2015

Gianova POV

"I am literally going to take one of the 28 pistols and shoot myself if I have to write about one more canned good." I said angrily, slamming a can of corned beef hash down on the shelf.

Alisha laughed.

"How are you happy?" I asked. I picked up the next can of beef and marked it on the sheet. 

"Easy. I pretend I'm in a movie." She picked up a jar of sliced peaches dramatically. 

I rolled my eyes. "Are you sure you're not on anything?" 

"Of course not! How could I find anything in this mess." She groaned.

"It's probably good to be off of it though. It'd be hard to tell if the infected is real or not." I moved on to cereals and marked a box of Cheerios.

"That's probably true." She sighed. "I'd kill for a hit though." She stared at her papers.

Larissa called from a few shelves down, "you two are such downers! Could you maybe talk about something other than drugs around the kids?!"

"Sorry Larissa! Sorry kids!" Alisha yelled back.

"Iths okay!" May Wyatt screamed from by the others.

I laughed at her cute little lisp. She lost both of her front teeth last month. She's losing them fast for being only 4.

"Thanks May!" Alisha giggled.

I continued marking off cereals as we fell into silence. Alisha was the first to break it. "I'm sorry about what happened this morning."

"Why?" I questioned. "You had nothing to do with it."

"My sister-in-law is smart, but sometimes she's not good with emotions." She gazed unseeingly at the cans in front of her.

"We've been friends for years, and we never fought this much!" I was frustrated.

"It's the circumstances." Alisha reassured. "We're all tense and ready to snap. Scotty is driving me crazy."

"I think we all have someone driving us crazy." I muttered.

We were quiet again, and spent the next 5 hours finishing, not including the time we took out to eat lunch (Larissa brought our food to the store). By that time it was 6 o'clock.

"Finally, that's done!" Alisha cried victoriously as she slammed the filing cabinet closed. I smiled.

"Nova!"

I turned around. Conner was standing in the doorway, looking awkward. 

"I can ask her to go?" Alisha suggested.

"No, it's ok." I grabbed my backpack and headed out.

"Nova, can we talk?" Conner asked hesitantly.

I continued walking but slowed down so that she could walk with me.

"Nova I'm sorry about what happened at breakfast." She said. "If I could take it back I would."

"I know." I acknowledged.

"Icy. What's for dinner again?"

 

~

 

October 22nd 2015

Dean POV

"Dean? Are you coming to dinner?" Aidan asked tentatively. 

"No." I answered shortly.

"Sam wouldn't want-"

"Do you think I give a damn!" I interrupted loudly. "No! Go away!"

Aidan backed out of the tent. I went back to sharpening my knives.

 

~

 

October 22nd 2015

Sam POV

We shuffled down the bombed streets of the city. I couldn't tell you what city, or where it was. I wasn't even sure why I was there. I didn't know any of the people I was with. I just knew one thing, we all had a common goal. Food. Food. Food. Food. Food.

Food.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *inspiration*  
> Scotty and Alisha - http://weheartit.com/entry/9898503/in-set/7385896-my-heart-will-beat-for-you?context_user=lovehollyberry&page=2  
> Wilson - http://weheartit.com/entry/37069087/in-set/7385896-my-heart-will-beat-for-you?context_user=lovehollyberry


	11. A Minor Incident

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AKA where the author watches 5 episodes of Gotham while writing this and sinks further and further into her couch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I don't post a chapter later today or tomorrow, Merry Christmas!

November 26th 2015

Gianova POV

I woke suddenly to a loud rattling on the gate and yelling. I checked the clock, it was 3:42 AM.

"I'm coming!"

I stumbled out of bed and over to the gate in my pajamas. Everyone has their own "room" now. 

"Nova! Nova get up!" Alisha screamed.

"Alisha!?" She was standing outside of the gate in her pajamas with her bag and two rifles. I reached the gate and opened it. She ducked in before it was open all of the way and slammed it down.

"They got in. We don't know how. Grab your bag, we need to get out now!" Alisha pushed me over to the bed. I sat down to pull on my boots and throw on a cardigan. I grabbed a few things I needed and put them in my bag with everything else I kept in there for emergencies.

"Let's go!" She pulled me up.

I snatched my bag and put it on as we ran for the exit. She handed me a headlamp and a rifle.

"I can't use this!" I fretted as I put the lamp on. 

"Just point and shoot!" She lifted the gate and let it fall after us. "Let's go!"

We ran down the corridor and over to the escalators. There was lots of gunfire from the right of us.

"Come on!" She whisper shouted. "We need a car!"

We ran over to the exits and ran into the lot. 

"Alisha! We need to get inside!" I whispered back. "There are infected everywhere!" 

There was a loud groan from beside us and I screamed. Alisha shot.

"Run!" She yelled as the infected noticed us. We sprinted over to the side of the lot. There were infected surrounding the vehicles. One of them was on fire. The others were fighting off infected, and not doing well at all. A few peeled off and came at us. Alisha swung a sword I hadn't seen at one and it dropped. I managed to shoot one in the leg, torso, and shoulder before hitting the head.

"New plan!" Alisha yelled, dropping another one. "Out of the mall! The houses across the street. It's going to be a dead sprint, are you ready?"

She didn't wait, and took off running. I ran faster. I could hear infected behind us, but they were getting distracted by the firing by the cars. We ran across the 5 lanes of road and into the ditch. We ducked down to breath and check if we were followed. There were a few on the road, but couldn't see us and were becoming distracted by the mall.

"Ok. The first house, right there!" She whispered. We got up and ran as quietly as possible over to the house. The door was shut but unlocked, and we quickly locked it behind us. 

"I'll check the upstairs, you take the downstairs." She raised her gun and began up the stairs. I moved quietly into the living room. The kitchen and dining rooms were clear. The other door outside was shut and locked, as well as the garage. I finished my floor when I heard a loud crash from upstairs. I ran quickly up the stairs.

"I'm okay!" She called. "There were two in the bedroom. I took care of it." 

"Okay. Did you finish the sweep?" I asked.

"Yeah. There's a porch with a view of the mall. It's got a barrier around it." She came out of the bedroom and led us to the porch. I took my rifle and backpack off and set them on the table. She followed suit.

"What do we do we can't just leave them there!" I worried.

"Maybe we can signal them, get them to come to the houses over here. At least let them know we are ok." She walked back over the the doors. I grabbed my bag and rifle back and followed her. 

Alisha continued upstairs while I tried downstairs. The house was mostly ransacked, but I found a closet that had been missed.

"Jackpot!" I cheered softly. Inside as a tank of helium, and balloons. I lugged them upstairs. 

"Alisha! I found balloons!" I called.

"Awesome! I found tea lights, we can put them in the balloons and tie them to the railing." She said.

We went back out to the porch and filled balloons until we ran out of helium. At that point the firing and yelling had stopped from the mall.

"You should get some sleep. There's a guest room down the hall. I'll take first watch." She set herself up against the railing and settled in. I nodded and shut the glass doors behind me. I shut the door to the guest bedroom and closed all of the curtains but the ones facing the mall. I found a candle in a drawer and lit it with a lighter from my bag.

The mall looked menacing. I wanted to close the curtains, but didn't. I blew out the candle instead and got into the bed, shoes and all. I covered myself with a throw blanket and fell asleep.

 

~

 

November 26th 2015

Gianova POV

I checked the clock I had wound up at night when I woke up, it was 8:17 AM. There was sunlight streaming through the curtains. I grabbed all of my stuff and the blanket and headed out to the porch. Alisha was sat on the porch against the railing. All three of the Myers were outside, as well as Clarence and Meredith.

I opened the door. "Why didn't you wake me up for watch?"

Alisha looked up from a can she was attempting to open. "The others got here, they were able to take it. You needed sleep."

"Hello Nova." Summer Myers greeted me. Her daughters Naomi and Diana echoed her. They had only joined us at the mall a week ago. They looked comfortable squatting in the abandoned house.

"Who else is here?" I asked. I set my bag down and pulled a can opener out of a pocket and handed it to Alisha.

"Just us. But, there are people there, there, there, and there. Maybe more." As she spoke she pointed our four neighboring houses. I could see people outside on porches and in windows. I sat down against the house and pulled my blanket around my legs and leant the rifle up against the siding.

"We can't see what is going on at the mall, but someone over there has binoculars." Meredith spoke up. Her husband Clarence nodded. 

I sighed and stared out at the mall. Some time later Naomi handed me a bowl of applesauce and a protein bar. I sipped at the orange juice box Clarence had provided.

Suddenly a loud band occurred and a frisbee landed on the deck. Everyone lunged up to make sure no infected were alerted. Once it was deemed safe I walked over and picked up the frisbee. There was a note attached to the underside. I unfolded it and read it quietly aloud.

"There are 2 of us in one house and 2 in the house next to us. There are no infected by us. We are going to move to your house on your signal." I finished.

"Ok." Alisha began. "Clarence and Meredith will go downstairs and watch the other two entrances. Summer, Nova, and I will go to the front door and take down any infected that might try to get in. Naomi and Diana will watch from the porch. Any questions?" No one said anything. "Okay. When we leave, give us 30 second to get set up, then cut 3 balloons without lights in them."

We left and took our positions downstairs. After 30 seconds we opened the door and stepped outside with our guns up. After another minute 4 people came quietly running up the street. We got everyone in without incident and up into the second floor living room. Clarence and Meredith went back onto the porch. I searched through the faces and was relieved to see Genesis was okay. Mrs. Christenberry was with her. Conner and Scotty were both okay. Alisha was hugging Scotty so tightly I was afraid he was going to lose oxygen. I hugged Conner and Gen.

"Is everyone okay?" Summer asked. There were scattered mumblings of confirmation.

Before anything else could happen there was banging at the door. I raised my gun and ran down the stairs. I looked through the peephole. There was a cluster of our people huddled outside. I checked with Alisha, who nodded. I swung the door open and rushed everyone inside. My mom came in last and shut the door behind her before grabbing me in a hug so tight I couldn't breath. I finally got free and escorted her upstairs.

We gathered on the couches in the sitting room. There were people huddled together in group hugs. Everyone looked shell-shocked.

"There are 20 of us here." Alisha opened. "As far as we know we are the only people from the mall left."

I looked around. There were so many missing people. Only 20 out of 40 left. That's half.

"What the hell do we do now?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *inspiration*  
> Nova outfit - http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=185404278  
> Alisha outfit - http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=185735179


	12. Shopping Spree

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AKA where the author speed-writes on accident and this whole character development thing is hard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look another update! Crazy! Christmas is in one hour where I am from, so Merry Christmas again!

November 26th 2015

Gianova POV

"What the hell do we do now?" Gen asked.

"Who had the binoculars?" Alisha asked.

Holly raised her hand and they went on to the porch. She looked shattered, and I realized I hadn't seen Vivian or Imogene.

I looked back at everyone who was left. May was the only surviving Wyatt, her three older brothers and parents weren't here. She was asleep. Matt and his father were ok. Kate was ok but her little sister was nowhere to be seen. Conner and Scotty were alive, but Nate, Wilson, and their father weren't here. Dani, Gen, my mom, Mrs. Christenberry (I should really start calling her Mary), the Myers, Holly, Alisha, Meredith and Henry, Larissa and her baby, and myself. There were so many families torn further apart.

I shook myself of the depressing thoughts and got up to go outside on the deck.

"Right there." 

"I see it now."

"What does it look like?" I asked them.

"Um." Alisha hesitated. "It looks clear from here, but we can't see inside or around the back. For all we know there are a thousand of them there."

"So the only way to know for sure is to go out there." I concluded.

"I don't know if it's worth it to try!" Holly protested. "The doors got busted when they got in last night. Everything got trampled and destroyed. The cars are trashed."

"What about our people? What if there are people trapped there?" I argued.

"Ok. What if we take a group of people to go all the way around to the buildings on the other side. If the outside is clear enough to get them in safely, they can clear the parking lot. If it's not, we give up and keep moving to a new home." Alisha decided. We went back inside with Meredith, Henry, Naomi, and Diana. 

"We have a plan." Alisha said.

"Now hold on just a minute!" Rich interjected, jumping up. "Are we just going to accept a plan that was made by three uneducated young girls?"

Alisha tensed up. "I'm 25, I have an associates degree in mechanical design, and my female ass is more educated in this than yours." She snapped.

Rich sat back down.

"Now. I'm going to take a group over to the buildings over on the other side of the mall. If it's clear enough to get inside, we'll clear the parking lot and try to take a peek inside. If it isn't clear to begin with, we'll have to abandon it and move on." Alisha finished her plan. "Any volunteers?"

My mom raised her hand. So did Scotty, Meredith, and Clarence. Another moment passed and Rich and Holly did too. Mary joined it with Summer.

"Ok. Nine people. The rest of you stay inside. We'll take the balloons with us. Green means we are on our way home, Orange means we are going inside. Two people stay on the porch to keep watch. 16 years and up. We don't have the luxury of waiting for adulthood anymore." Holly came back inside with the balloons while Alisha finished up.

I followed them downstairs. "Goodluck." 

They darted out of the door and I locked it behind them. I went back upstairs.

"Who's going to take first watch?" Larissa asked. 

"I need some fresh air." Gen said. She looked a little sick.

"I'll go too." I volunteered. We went outside and sat down against the rails. 

"I wish we had something quieter than a gun." I said.

"Like a bow and arrows." Gen replied. "I think Summer knows how to use one, but she lost hers."

"She should teach us. If we ever find another one that is." 

Gen didn't reply, but leaned her head against the house and watched the mall. I followed suit. 

After about 30 minutes there was an orange balloon flying through the air.

"That means they can get to the doors at least." I said.

Not even 5 minutes later all three green balloons went flying, and infected came around the corner. They were moving slowly, but 

"They must have all been inside." Gen said, sitting up.

"Yeah, and now they are heading here. We need to move further away." I lunged up and help Gen get up.

"Where?" She looked panicked. 

"Just further down. We can open the doors to some of the other houses so that they go inside of those." I ran back inside. "We're moving further down. The infected are out of the mall but heading our way." 

As I spoke there was a loud knocking at the door, followed by yelling. I ran downstairs with my stuff, and everyone else followed. I looked through the peephole and opened the door. There was a school bus outside running. Our people were inside. The rest of us followed Alisha to the bus and Mary closed the doors behind us.

"And here I thought I was done with these." I joked. A few people laughed as we pulled away from the mall.

"In case you all couldn't tell, the mall is lost. So we need a new game plan." Alisha pulled a few maps out of her backpack. Mary pulled over and turned off the bus. We huddled around Alisha. 

"There's more shopping centers around here." Clarence suggested.

"I think we should start to think more permanently than that. We need somewhere safer." Larissa argued.

"What about military bases? If they are still there, they can't deny us, right?" Dani asked.

"I wouldn't bet on it." Rich muttered. "We went to one for help, they told us to leave. When we hesitated for a second too long they shot at us. We barely made it out."

"What camp was it?" Dani asked.

"Fort McCoy, northwest of here." He replied.

"Maybe they all aren't like that, they might not even be inhabited still." I suggested.

"Maybe. Is there anywhere else we can go?" Alisha asked everyone. No one had any good ideas.

"Alright. Military it is. Where is the closest base?" Scotty questioned.

"There's a US Army Reserves about seven miles west of here, and there's a US Navy Department six miles south of here." My mom informed us. "I considered taking Nova and myself there when this started."

I looked up in surprise. She didn't comment.

"Let's try the Army. West is farther away from the city." Meredith decided. When no one objected we returned to our seats in quiet anticipation. It took about fifteen minutes to arrive near the building. We were blocked by deserted cars, but it didn't matter. 

"It's burned out. Literally." Alisha sighed. "It looks like it went up as soon as the dead did. I guess we're going to the Navy."

"How far is that?" Mary asked.

I consulted the map. "About nine miles, twenty minutes, give or take."

"Ok. Do we have enough gas to get there?" Alisha asked Mary.

"Barely, but I think so. If not, we can walk fast." Mary declared.

We made it 3 miles before the bus ran out of gas. We hopped off and began walking the 6 miles. I could feel goosebumps on my legs. I wished I had time to find some long pants or tights or something. My pajamas weren't exactly warm. Everyone was dressed in a similar fashion. 

I searched around us as we walked until I found what I was looking for.

"Look!" I called softly. "A Woolenwear. We need new clothes."

Everyone seemed to simultaneously realize we were wearing pajamas. 

"The kids especially need warmer clothes. It's late November." Larissa conceded, wrapping an arm around May's shoulders. May was wearing nothing but a thin nightgown and flats. 

"And because it's late November, it will be getting dark very soon. We need to find somewhere to stay the night. The Navy can wait until morning." My mom determined.

We changed our target to the shop and cleared it quickly. Only two infected were inside. The two warmest people took watch first while the rest of us found clothes to wear. After I changed I folded my pajamas as tightly as possible and stuffed them into my pack. I repositioned my gun strap and took over for Rich so he could sit down and find a coat.

While I waited I attempted to control my tangled hair. It was almost no use.

"I can cut it." Danielle offered. "I was a cosmetology student.

I studied my reflection in the windows. "Ok."

Dani grabbed a pair of scissors from a counter. She brushed my hair out with a comb from her bag. "How short?"

I grabbed my hair and folded over to a shoulder-length bob. "Like that."

She nodded and set to work. As people finished getting dressed they came and sat by us in a semi-circle. Dani finished my hair and braided the front into a crown that ended in the back of my head. When she finished with me Mary asked politely if she could cut her hair into a pixie style. Others put in requests. Alisha declined the offer, since her hair was already short, but allowed Dani to braid the sides.

"How are you doing?" Alisha asked, sitting down next to me. She had changed into a very chic flannel based outfit. I was just wearing an oversized jean jacket and leggings. 

"I'm fine." Before I could continue Naomi and Diana came running into the circle.

"Mom! It's Thanksgiving! Can we have dinner!?" Diana cried.

"Please!?" Naomi echoed.

Summer looked lost.

"There's a 7-Eleven up the road. Maybe there's a car around here that works. We can take a few people and grab everything edible. Maybe we can scrounge up a Thanksgiving dinner out of it." Dani said.

I took one look at the kids' faces and volunteered to go. My mom looked unhappy but didn't argue. Alisha said she would go too which led Scotty to volunteer. Gen looked sad. I made a decision.

"Gen, you should take another car with Holly. You guys can follow us. If it looks dodgy you can leave before we get there. If not, you two can plan out a meal for us." I suggested. Alisha nodded.

"Let's see if we can wrangle up some cars then!" Alisha pushed herself up and headed outside with Holly and Scotty. I followed them with Gen.

"Thanks for that. Everyone acts like I'm a murderer for wanting to do things outside." We stopped at a car but found it to have no tires.

"It's no problem." I opened the door to a little car. The battery was dead.

"If it's a stick we can push start it." Gen said.

"Awesome!" I cheered.

"How does it look?" Scotty asked.

"We can push start it." Gen answered.

"There's a stick shift over there that won't start, is it the same?" Scotty asked.

"Maybe. We'll be there as soon as this one starts. Help Nova push?" She pulled me out of the seat and directed us to the back. She told us to push it until it was rolling on it's own. A moment later it started and she drove over to the other one. She walked us through it and we got the other car started.

Holly got into the car with Gen and I got into the car with Scotty and Alisha. We waved to the people in the shop and headed on our way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *inspiration*  
> Nova outfit - http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=185783137  
> Alisha outfit - http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=185783781  
> Holly - http://weheartit.com/entry/150031193/via/lovehollyberry


End file.
